by Nicol Terra
“Tina,” Robin said.
“Rose out of spite,” Erudite said. Robin snorted his drink and giggled.
“That is a new side of you.” Robin added.
“What? I think Rose has a fair shot.” Erudite said.
“Well, Rose did place the highest in the theoretical magic,” Evelyn said.
“Wait, are we talking combat or pong?” Erudite inquired.
Robin took a swig of his wine, pouring everyone a drink. Eve sighed as she took a quick sip from the glass.
“Well, let's look at it logically.” She pointed at Tina first. “She is the best in the camp, probably still in the top two..”
Erudite snarled. “Go on…”
Robin was next, shaking his head as he swirled the wine in his cup.
“She has a point, not sure how high Bunny is placed.” Robin added.
Eve nodded. “She can control Time and slice a hole in space. All of these are rare abilities, she is naturally talented.” Eve pointed at Rose, still struggling to make a ball of wind. “She is… Rose.”
Erudite pondered for a second, flashing through every memory of Rose, both pleasant and unpleasant.
“Rose has potential,” Erudite said, taking a swig from her glass.
“Elaborate,” Robin asked.
“Well, she can’t control the basic four, but when she does learn it, she probably has the most potential out of all of us. Those aren’t her primary elements.”
“Oh right, you are our Lieutenant.” Evelyn took a swig.
“What is her primary elements, that she is supposed to know?” Robin asked.
Erudite giggled and smiled. “Ether and Nether, apparently.”
Eve coughed for a second, wiping away wine from her cheek. “You are kidding me.”
“I am not. Everyone primary elements, besides mine and Tina’s, were off the basic four, except Rose’s.” She said, letting out a small sigh. “She is a rare breed.” Erudite added.
“That is the issue, isn‘t it? No one knows Ether, most ascend to higher ranks like Chief Commander.” Robin said, tilting his back on the makeshift mattress coach. “I say Tina still.”
“Tina,” Eve said.
“Rose,” Evelyn added.
“Well, 2-2, let's see how she is doing.”
Erudite turned to Rose, her eyes solid and her mind focused, her face was stern. She let go a ball of air, knocking it perfectly in the middle of a cup, Tina setting aside the first cup of the game.
Erudite smirked. “I think Rose is stupid, I think she is frankly too loose morally, I think she doesn’t understand authority.”
“Ouch.” Evelyn took a swig.
“But I can say this, out of everyone here. Rose has the most potential.” Erudite took a last swig and pouring herself another cup of wine. “That is not the Alcohol talking, I sincerely believe that.”
“Well, why are you harsh on her?” Eve asked.
“Fair question,” Robin added.
“Well if you want to see someone improve, sometimes you have to be tough on them. Also, here is step two,” Erudite said, rising up from the coach and flying over to Rose.
“If you can’t do it with thought, then just do it without thought.” She whispered. She flew back to the coach, Tina turning to her.
“You want me to lose?” Tina said.
“Nah, but it would nice to see you take a drink.” Erudite said, crossing her arms together.
“Oooooooo.” Everyone said with smiles. Erudite's savage remark caused Tina to blush and fume.
“I will remember this.” Tina flamed.
“No, you won’t, you will be fucking hammered after tonight.” Erudite took a swig.
Tina shot a ball at another cup, making it in, leaving four left.
“Speaking of, the war.” Robin took a chug. “It's official, Zynthia and Kulso mobilized their troops about a week ago.”
“Really?” Eve asked. “Where are they taking first?”
“Probably Agall West Gate.”
“Why not the north gate?” Erudite inquired.
“Probably because it is the most heavily guarded. The fighting is more fierce there then in the other gates. They already replaced Alexia and have a new general.” Eve took a swig.
“Who did they replace her with?” Evelyn asked
“Avaycn,” Eve answered
“Uh-Oh.” Robin took a swig, his face ghost white.
“What's the matter?” Erudite asked.
“Well nothing with her, but she doesn’t use magic,” Robin said. “She uses two crystals.”
Erudite scanned her mind to try to link her name with anyone she knew, then she heard of someone with an Angel Crystal and a Dimir crystal. She is called the ‘Demi-God of Angels’. Both crystals are so rare and so powerful. She then felt her face flush white, she remembered one more thing. “No Mercy.” Was her personal motto.
“Is it the Avacyn that wrote a book about Order and giving no mercy to those who break the law?” Erudite asked. Her drunkenness distilled the summary of nearly four hundred pages to its core premise. She then blinked. “I need another shot.” She said to herself. “If I remember that, I might have problems.”
Robin nodded. “Yes. She was highly controversial. The Senate and other Kings didn’t want her in because of her magical views. Unironically, her loyalty won her the position.”
“Does she like to drink?” Eve asked.
Erudite turned to her, her face with a sour smile.
“Oh yeah, she loves to get fucked up and piss on a tree in the middle of the night.” She said. Robin let out a small giggle as Eve fumed red.
Eve rolled her eyes. “It was a legit question.”
“Well, I gave you a legit answer.” She said.
“I bet you love a person like that.” Eve slurred. Erudite face turned white and then to red.
“What's the supposed to mean?” Erudite asked.
“You are the highest rank here on paper. You are technically our boss. You obey Jay like a dog, and you always follow the rules.” She slurred, floating upward.
Erudite winced. “I mean, I try to be fair to my friends.”
“And you are doing a good job at making us either do extra chapters or more workouts,” Eve said, rising up.
Robin swung between the two as he looked at Erudite.
“Okay Eve, that is going a little too far.” Robin put her hand on her chest. “Relax a little, you had a little too much to drink.”
“No Robin.” She said, shrugging his hand away. “I bet you don’t like breaking your nails and you want us grunts to do your dirty work.” She said, digging her finger on her chest. She sighed, knocking it away.
“You‘re drunk.” Erudite said.
“Fine, then duel me,” Eve said.
Erudite raised a brow. She then remembered her own class ranking. One was Tina, Two was herself, and three was Eve.
She gave a small smile, only for a ‘plop’ echo in the background.
“I did it!” Rose said. Tina groaned as she poured herself a cup of beer. Erudite cracked her knuckles.
“You wanna fight?” Erudite cracked.
“Yes.” Eve said.
“Hey, Tina!” Erudite shouted. Tina, quickly recovering from her loss swung around.
Tina stumbled around from side to side, caught off guard by the loud shout. “WHAA” She slurred.
“I am going to need you to rewind wounds, me and Eve are fighting.” She said.
“Come on, you can’t be serious,” Robin said, intervening. Erudite shook her head.
“She is right, and to be honest, I am curious myself. I tied Tina, let's see who is the strongest between two and three.” Erudite said. Erudite was too drunk to care about these turn of events.
“It will be fun,” Evelyn added.
“Fuggit.” Tina slurred. “No one is using the training field lets go.”
Erudite looked at Eve’s eyes, mad and flaming red. She was serious.
Tina stumbled o
utside to an open field, the starry sky greeting her. She couldn’t see straight that well, but at least she can walk. Erudite and Eve met each other in a dirt circle.
“Can’t complain if I knock your teeth in,” Eve smirked.
“It's okay; I am sure I got this.” Erudite added
Tina slurred a scoff with Robin turning to her.
“What's up?” Robin said.
“I am sure she is modest, I think this will be a stomp.” Tina slurred.
“Uh-Oh.” Robin whispered.
“Well, can I have another drink after this?” Tina said.
“You aren’t the one fighting, if anything, those two will need a drink." Robin groaned.
Tina groaned, but he was right.
Erudite created two spheres of darkness with her hands, Eve returning a gust of wind that shot at Erudite. She created a field of darkness at her, trying to crush her. Eve returned the favor by bolting into the sky, dropping gusts of wind. Erudite dodged side to side, weaving effortlessly through the wind. She smirked and ‘sliced’ the air with her hand. Eve bolted the other direction at the last second. Tina shook her head.
“That is a master of darkness right there,” Tina said. Robin bit his lip, Evelyn and Rose observing.
Eve created a gust of wind and flew down at Erudite, punching her with a gust of wind. She turned around, shaking her head once. She returned with a clapping her hands and shooting a massive tornado at her. Erudite flew back, her wings fluttering quickly in the air. In a second, Erudite appeared behind Eve, smacked her again and knocking her on the ground so hard that a mile deep crater formed, the ground instantly turning to dust in mere seconds.
“Ah fuck!” Evelyn shouted, with everyone rushing towards the crater.
Eve laid unconscious on the floor.
“Eve, you alive?” Rose asked.
Evelyn smacked her head. “Don’t jinx it, and I don‘t wanna get busted for watching a teammate die.
A sudden groan came from the crater.
“You okay?” Tina asked.
“No,” Eve said. “Oh god, I regret this decision already.”
Tina looked to see everyone staring at her as she turned back to Eve. Their gaze intensified for a solid five seconds as Tina grounded back into reality. "Oh, right. That was why she was here."
“Need me to rewind your wounds?" Tina slurred.
“Yeah.” Eve groaned
Tina fell to the crater and created a ball of light, shining as she pieced her spine back together and rewinding the wound. Eve flew up, shaking her head rapidly as her wings fluttered. Her eyes were dazed and confused.
“Oww, that hurt.”Eve said, holding on to her head.
Tina smiled like a snake, raising three fingers.
“How many fingers am I holding up?” Tina asked.
“Nine.” Eve said.
Tina looked at her fingers for a moment, shaking her head. “Eve, I might be fucked up, but that ain‘t the number.”
“Uhh. Five?” Eve said.
Tina facepalmed herself. “Come on; let's get you a drink of water.”
The five of them surrounded Erudite as Robin got a bucket and a glass of water for her. Tina was drunk as her eyes wondered from side to side. Eve then let out a big gulp.
“Feel better?” Erudite said.
“Not really, you still kicked my ass,” Eve said.
Robin shrugged. “Hey, I at least know not to fuck with her.”
“I think we got tested at being like, ten times stronger than you guys,” Erudite said, pointing to Tina. Tina nodded, although she vaguely remembered the power sensing test.
Rose shivered. “Savage.” Erudite went to shake Eve’s hand, a smile on her face.
“Hey, you tried. You win some you lose some, don’t let it bring you down and don’t let others bring you down. At least you can say you tried.” Erudite said.
Everyone stood in silence, Eve returning a smile as she smacked her hand as the two reached to hug eachother. Tina let out a small tear, while Robin and Rose smirked.
“That was beautiful.” Tina said, her voice high pitched.
“Let's all get more drinks.” Robin said.
“Except me,” Eve said,
Tina nodded. “We wills keeps you company.”
“Wills?” Rose giggled. Tina shook her head.
“I don’t know; I am a little drunk.” Tina smiled.
“Want to match me a shot and get a lot of drunk?” Rose asked. Tina smiled, her hand planted on her chest as a gaping grin formed over her face.
“Oh, my god yes.” She said- Rose understood her correctly as the two reached to hug each other. A few seconds later, the two poured the last two shots of the bottle for both of them and knocked them back.
“What am I watching?” Robin whispered.
“I don’t know. I guess two idiots form one whole idiot when drunk.” Erudite said. Tina swung around to look at Erudite as her face was blurry to her. Despite this, Tina’s vicious glare made Erudite smirk. “Hey, I am not wrong.” Erudite added.
Tina and Rose kept filling up Eve’s cup. She regained lucidity after a dozen minutes. A smile returning on her face.
“Ah man, that water is good.” She said, finishing her second cup.
“You want more?” Rose asked. Eve shook her head.
“Nah, but this mattress looks comfy.” She said. Tina shook her head.
“Let's take go back to our room then.” She said. Rose and Eve nodded.
“How about we watch this first?” She said, pointing to Erudite and Robin hugging. Tina pulled out her Holosphere briefly to look at the time, it was one in the morning. The two then darted away in a second with Tina smiling.
“Aww, I guess we can leave the two lovebirds alone.” Tina said.
“Shuddit.” Erudite slurred.
“Yeah uhm, can you three leave us?” Robin said.
“Wait, where is Evelyn?” Tina asked.
“She took a shot and went back to bed.” Erudite slurred again.
“Well, I guess we can follow her back,” Eve said.
The three went outside, Eve checking her Holosphere as she gave a deep sigh.
“It's one o five.” She said.
“At night?” Rose asked.
“No, during the day.” Eve retorted. “Do you see the sun at this moment?”
Rose groaned. “Fine, fine. You caught me.”
“Speaking off, don’t we have tomorrow off?” Eve asked.
“You do, don’t you? I have papers to file for our squadron.” Tina growled.
“Oh, right. We are under six.” Eve said.
“What, are they gonna disband us and put us into other squadrons?” Rose whined. Tina shrugged.
“Possibly, if we do well on the written exam, we might be slipped into a special squadron.” She said.
Eve raised a brow. “You or Erudite leading?”
“Well, I was offered, but I said no. I am filing with Erudite. I was told I need to be over to ‘sign my rights away.’”
“That wording sounds fucked up,” Rose added.
Tina shrugged. “Ehh, kind of but I don‘t wanna be a Lieutenant.”
“Why not?” Eve asked.
“Because I don’t think I am a leader,” Tina said, shaking her head. She always liked being independent.
Eve scoffed. “Nonsense, I have more faith in you than Erudite.” She said.
Tina felt a sharp pain run across her body. “Well, I am more kind, and I don’t think it makes for a good leader.”
Eve smiled. “Well, I say it makes you more unique.”
Tina said nothing, and she didn’t want too. She had no words to say. Eve opened the door and sighed. “I am going to bed, you two?”
Rose pulled out a pack of sparks, two joints left.
“I guess I am smoking for a bit,” Tina said. Eve nodded.
“Cool, I will see you sometime tomorrow.” Eve said.
The door shut as Rose lit a joint for herself. She grabbed a li
t roll from Rose. Tina took a big puff as she leaned on the wall. She stood there quietly, gazing at the stars from the window. She saw the Big Dipper, even when drunk it still was visible to her. Tina then let out a small sigh.
“What's up?” Rose asked.
“I have a lot on my mind,” Tina said. She couldn’t stop thinking about herself if she was a good leader or not. Everyone called her ‘talented.’ She needs money though, not talent.
“Tell me what is wrong,” Rose said bluntly. Tina perked her ears and head up, Rose’s eyes were sincere. She had a gentle gaze and a friendly smile. She smiled.
“You know I came here because I needed money, right?” She asked.
“Yeah.” Rose said.
“My mom… is sick, and the cure is expensive.” She said, grimacing and shuffling her feet on the tiled ground. Reaching for her necklace, she saw her mother, an aged woman with golden wings and a wrinkled, but gentle face.
“What do you mean? What is wrong with her?” Rose asked.
“She has a disease, Poorman's disease.” Tina said.
Rose exhaled, as she looked to the ground. She leaned on the wall and slid down. Tina followed suit as they sat together.
“I see. I am sorry to hear that.” Rose said.
“I think Eve is not wrong, but I need not be a leader, I need the money.” She said. Rose nodded.
“I understand. I had someone I loved die in front of me, and I couldn’t save them because I didn’t have the money.” Rose said.
Tina nodded. “Erudite is rich, she never understood. I have little to my name.Plus, you can’t have someone buy the cure for you, that is illegal. Only close family can.”
“How much SALT do you have?” Rose asked.
“To me? One and a half.” She giggled.
“That is…less than two silver coins.” Rose added. Tina sighed and nodded. Hearing the number with metal felt like poison to her mind.
“That was for the month. I don’t get more than the five silver coins we all get.” She sighed.
Rose nodded. “So, you are here for your mother. What about the war?”
Tina pondered. She then felt a small boiling rage. She thought it was unfair that the way for her to earn her happiness was to possibly die for her country. She hated her country. She is stuck poor, and the rich and royals swallow up all they can.
